


Chapter 1: An Afternoon in the Garden

by PlanceGardener21



Series: Days and Nights in the Garden of Voltron [1]
Category: Voltron Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, Hunay, Romance, kallura, plance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-26
Updated: 2019-11-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:35:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21565435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PlanceGardener21/pseuds/PlanceGardener21
Summary: After the war with the Galra Empire has ended with a victory for the Voltron Coalition, the Paladins are employed by the Galaxy Garrison, Princess Allura has made a new home in Earth, and the Holts are hard at work on the Defenders Project. On this particular afternoon at the Garrison, Lance McClain is trying to find the courage to ask the young woman he secretly loves to accompany him to the Garrison Ball.  He seeks out his best friend Katie “Pidge” Holt to discuss the matter.
Relationships: Lance & Pidge | Katie Holt, Lance/Pidge | Katie Holt, plance - Relationship
Series: Days and Nights in the Garden of Voltron [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1554187
Comments: 6
Kudos: 27





	Chapter 1: An Afternoon in the Garden

**Author's Note:**

> Post-canon Voltron Legendary Defender AU

Lance had roamed the corridors of the Galaxy Garrison’s Science Division for three quarters of an hour, searching for a particular petite young scientist. He was determined to find her before he lost his nerve.  
“You’ve got to do it today, you coward,” he said to himself. What would Hunk think of him after what he confessed over breakfast this morning? He would never forgive himself if he chickened out. After all, he was a Paladin of Voltron. He had faced down Galra soldiers, giant robeasts, space pirates, bloodthirsty alien monsters, and even a space mall cop. He could do this.  
She wasn’t in her usual place, working alongside her brother in the robotics department, nor was she in her own office, writing code on her laptop. He didn’t find her assisting her father in one of the engineering laboratories either. There was one more place he had to check before leaving, which was Colleen’s hydroponics lab. He approached the door, noticing the holographic poster advertising the upcoming Garrison Ball. His heart began to beat faster and his palms began to sweat. Maybe he could talk to her tomorrow...  
“Hey, Lance!” He nearly jumped out of his skin. There she was, round glasses perched on the end of her little upturned nose and thick, unruly brown hair crammed into a messy ponytail. (When had it gotten so long that she could do that? How would she look with her hair down around her shoulders? Her eyes were so pretty...how would she look without those glasses on? Stop staring, he told himself.)  
“Uh, hi, Pidge. I was just looking for you actually. Need any help?” She was carrying a tray of little green seedlings, suspended in a nutrient solution.  
“Mom has been in a meeting all afternoon, and I promised her I would check up on her experiments. There’s another tray exactly like this one that needs to be moved to greenhouse three. See it over there?”  
“Yeah. I’ll get that for you.” He picked up the tray and followed her into the greenhouse.  
“These are ready for 12 hours of simulated radiation from a type G2 star,” she said putting her tray down under the designated sun lamp. Lance placed his tray of seedlings next to hers.  
“Trying to see if these will grow in earth-like conditions, right?”  
“Yep. Now I need to check on the growth of the tomatoes on aisle seven, and I’ll be done here. What’s up?”  
“Well, I was wondering about something. Did you see all of those holos reminding everyone about the Garrison Ball?”  
Pidge rolled her eyes. “I don’t need a holo to remind me about that. Mom has been nagging me to go shopping for a new dress every day. She expects me to go to the ball whether I have a date or not.”  
“But you don’t have a date yet, right?”  
“Look, if you’re just came down here to make fun of me too, Mom already does that.”  
“No, I just wanted to talk to you.”  
“About what?”  
“Well, there’s this girl I really like, and I want to ask her to go to the ball with me, but I am afraid to do it. Help me, please.”  
“Don’t tell me that you are afraid of being rejected. That never stopped you from asking out girls before.”  
“It’s more than that. This girl means everything to me. I don’t want to mess this up.”  
“Um, you know that Keith has already asked Allura to go to the ball with him, and she said yes, right?”  
“This isn’t about them. I got over my crush on Allura ages ago.”  
“Oh, really?” Pidge raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Well, if this girl you like is so important to you, you should just tell her how you feel about her.” She crossed her arms and stared at him as if to challenge him.  
“It’s not that easy. If I ask her out and she says no, it might make things weird between us. She might not want to be around me anymore.”  
“But what if she says yes?”  
“Then we will start dating, and I will inevitably say or do something stupid and she’ll break up with me and then she won’t want to be friends with me anymore and I won’t be able to handle it. I can’t lose her. She’s one of my best friends in the entire universe!”  
Pidge smiled up at him, her cheeks slightly pink, and her eyes full of hope. She smirked and said, “But suppose you say and do stupid things around her all the time, and she still loves you anyway.”  
Lance groaned. “Thanks, Pidge. That’s the way to boost my self-esteem,” he said, and then sighed. “I’m hopeless.”  
“Well, maybe you came to the wrong person for advice about dating, since, according to my mother, I’m the one who’s hopeless. She makes fun of me all the time for having a crush on a boy that barely even realizes that I’m a female, and who flirts with every pretty girl he sees right in front of me, as if I don’t even exist!”  
Lance gaped at her, speechless. Could it be? Was he imagining things? He blinked. There was a long silence, as Pidge stared at him, her face red with anger.  
Lance stood with his feet apart and fists on his hips. “Do I know this boy you like so much? He sounds like he’s kind of a jerk.”  
Pidge turned away from him. “He’s not a jerk,” she said in a small voice. “He’s actually really sweet, and clueless.” She sniffled. Was she crying? This boy had hurt her, and at that moment Lance wanted to punch him, whoever he was. “Do I know this guy? What’s he like?”  
“Tall.” Pidge sniffled a bit as she wiped her eyes.  
“Tall? Pidge, compared to you, every guy is tall. Give me something to go on here.” She laughed quietly, then turned to him. She took off her glasses to wipe away the last of her tears, then seemed to brace herself, as if to face a new challenge or to do something foolishly brave.  
“Um, okay. He’s a great pilot. He’s a daredevil...fearless, or at least he pretends to be.”  
“What’s that supposed to mean?”  
“It means that I know he gets really scared sometimes, but he always overcomes his fear, especially when someone he cares about is in danger. He loves his family and friends so much that he wouldn’t hesitate to protect them by putting his life on the line to keep them safe. He would even do that for a total stranger if it was the right thing to do. He’s saved countless lives. He’s a real hero.”  
“Wow...I...” Lance began. “He sounds like an amazing guy.”  
Pidge looked up at him with shining eyes. “He is, but he often doesn’t realize it. He’s fun to be with, and has a great sense of humor. He always makes me laugh when I least expect it. And he’s kind. He has one of the biggest hearts of anyone I know, and he desperately wants to love and be loved in return. And the saddest thing of all is that he sometimes thinks he doesn’t deserve that kind of happiness.” The tears rolled down her cheeks once more, but she made no effort to hide them this time. Even though Lance knew his own eyes weren’t dry, he moved closer to her, lifted her chin, and brushed away her tears with his thumbs. Her golden brown eyes were so big, he could have gotten lost in them. He felt a pang of jealousy directed at this boy that Pidge apparently had a crush on.  
“I’ll bet he’s totally ugly though, am I right? Probably looks like the back end of a weblum or something.” He wiped his face on the sleeve of his uniform.  
Pidge giggled. He grinned at her. “Eh, not really. I’d say he’s okay-looking.”  
“Okay-looking?!” Lance said in mock offense. “I imagined your Mr. Perfect as being some drop-dead gorgeous guy. You know...like me.” He waggled his eyebrows at her, and they both laughed.  
“Well, some girls thinks he’s handsome. I guess I think he’s at least kind of cute.”  
“Kind of? Just how cute is he?”  
“As cute as a yalmor.” Lance cackled, then eventually frowned. There was a long silence between them.  
“Lance?”  
“I’m thinking.”  
“Yeah, that usually takes a while.”  
“Hey!” Lance cried, pretending to be offended, but then he grinned at her.  
“I didn’t say that he was smart,” she mumbled.  
“What was that?”  
“I never said that the guy I like is smart...especially when it comes to figuring out when a girl likes him.”  
“Well, if he’s so slow on the uptake, maybe you should just tell him exactly how you feel about him.”  
“Hmm...no. I think the guy should make the first move.”  
“Sure. But do you know how terrifying that is?” Lance began to ramble, without thinking. “Even if the girl I lo—like says yes, she might make fun of me for being such a hopeless romantic. She’s already one of the people I care about the most in the entire universe. I’m afraid if we start dating I will ruin our friendship because, let’s face it, Pidge. I’m an idiot. I’m bound to do something stupid.”  
“I know you will, Lance, but if this girl is really worth it, then that’s a risk that you’ll have to take. It’s like my father always says: If you worry too much about what could go wrong...”  
“You might miss your chance to do something great,” he finished. It is now or never, he thought. Do it now, before you lose your nerve.  
“Pidge,” he began, then stopped. “Meeting You was the greatest thing that has ever happened to me in my entire life. You are my best friend. You make me laugh like no one else can, and you make my head spin with how incredibly clever you are. You’re courageous and kind, and honestly I think you are as beautiful as you are brilliant, and that is saying something because you are one of the smartest people I have ever met. Will you go to the Garrison Ball with me?”  
“I’ll have to think about it.” She was teasing him, but Lance panicked, once again fearing rejection.  
“Pidge!”  
She giggled. “Of course, I will go to the ball with you...I just wanted to see the look on your face when—“  
Lance didn’t know what she was going to say next because he cut her off with a loud whoop, and then picked her up in a tight hug. “That’s a yes, then. You are actually going to go on a date with me.”  
“Yes, I am actually going to go to the ball with you, Mr. Perfect.”  
He set her down, beaming at her. “Then that boy you have a crush on—“  
“Is you. It’s always been you, ever since we were cadets,” she said softly, then stood on tiptoe to kiss him gently on the lips. Lance leaned down and kissed her back, feeling her fingers ruffling his short, messy hair as he held her in a warm embrace. Kissing her was as thrilling as flying, and his heart raced just as fast as it had the first time he flew Blue Lion. She had been clinging to him with urgency then as well. They deepened the kiss, and his heart beat even faster, like the first time he flew Red. He realized that in that moment he was the happiest he had ever been. It was better than being accepted into the Garrison, better than becoming a Paladin, even better than being chosen as Black Paladin (not that he fantasized about that...much.) He would have hoped to stay like this forever, cradling her slender body in his arms, and kissing her with such tenderness until...

“Katie? Are you down here, sweetheart?”  
Lance and Pidge immediately broke their kiss and sprang apart from each other. Pidge mouthed the words “It’s my mom!” She smoothed her rumpled lab coat.  
“I know!” whispered Lance frantically, as he finger combed his hair, but it stood up at odd angles anyway. Both of them were blushing as red as Colleen’s tomato plants.  
“There you are! Katie, I’ve been looking for you everywhere. Oh! Hello, Lance.”  
“Mom! Um, we were just down here, um...”  
“Watering the plants,” said Lance, trying to finish her statement.  
“Lance, dear, this is a hydroponics garden. The plants are watered all the time. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you two were up to something. Anyway, Katie is going on a trip to the mall with her mother. I’m helping her pick out a new dress for the ball, whether she likes it or not. She thinks that because she can’t get a date that I will excuse her from going—“  
Pidge interrupted her mother. “Mom, I have a date.”  
“More than a date,” Lance added. “She’s got a boyfriend.” He draped one long arm around Pidge’s narrow shoulders in an all-too-familiar way to emphasize what he was saying. Pidge gave her mother a devilish grin.  
“Boyfriend?!” Colleen sputtered, clearly in shock.  
“Yes ma’am. And if you don’t mind, I’d like to tag along with you two lovely ladies on your trip to the mall. I need to rent a tuxedo.”


End file.
